Mapping mangrove opportunities with open access data: A case study for Bangladesh

Mangroves protect coastal areas against hazards like storms or cyclones by attenuating waves and currents, and by trapping floating debris during extreme events. Bangladesh is a very vulnerable country to floods and cyclones, and part of its coastal system is thus being upgraded to a higher safety standard. These upgrades include embankment...

Assessing safety of nature-based flood defenses: Dealing with extremes and uncertainties

Vegetated foreshores adjacent to engineered structures (so-called hybrid flood defenses), are considered to have high potential in reducing flood risk, even in the face of sea level rise and increasing storminess. However, foreshores such as salt marshes and mangrove forests are generally characterized by relatively strong temporal and...

Stem breakage of salt marsh vegetation under wave forcing: A field and model study

One of the services provided by coastal ecosystems is wave attenuation by vegetation, and subsequent reduction of wave loads on flood defense structures. Therefore, stability of vegetation under wave forcing is an important factor to consider. This paper presents a model which determines the wave load that plant stems can withstand before...

Nature-based flood protection: The efficiency of vegetated foreshores for reducing wave loads on coastal dikes

This paper analyses the effect of vegetation on wave damping under severe storm conditions, based on a combination of field measurements and numerical modelling. The field measurements of wave attenuation by vegetation were performed on two salt marshes with two representative but contrasting coastal wetland vegetation types: cordgrass ...

Wave attenuation by salt marsh vegetation

Salt marshes are a characteristic feature of estuaries and coastal seas. They are found in the upper coastal intertidal zones between land and water, which are regularly flooded by tides and surges. They are covered with salt-tolerant vegetation types, such as herbs and grasses. Sheltering from continuous intense hydrodynamic forcing by waves...